arbarian
Press was established in 1977 in Kent, England, where the Elsteds
worked with Graham Williams at the Florin Press. Having acquired
three flatbed hand presses  an 1850 super royal Hopkinson & Cope
Albion, an 1833 foolscap folio Barrett bench Albion, and an 1854
foolscap folio Sherwin & Cope Imperial  together with
many cases of type, they returned to their native Canada in 1978
and set up shop in Mission, British Columbia, about 50 miles
east of Vancouver in the Fraser Valley, where they remain. To
the English hand presses they have added Vandercook Universal
I and Universal III proofing presses, two Chandler & Price
vertical platen presses, much more type, and a small hand bindery.

The press’s publications range from
new English translations of poetry and prose from various languages and new poetry in English to bibliography, illustrated classics, typography, and books on wood engraving. This last has become a particular speciality since
the publication in 1995 of Endgrain: Contemporary
Wood Engraving in North America, which was greeted with
considerable acclaim, and is now widely sought after. This has
spawned an ongoing series of books called Endgrain
Editions, each showing selected work of a single engraver,
printed from the original blocks, with an introduction and a catalogue
of major works. The first of these, on Canadian engraver Gerard
Brender à Brandis, appeared in 2000; the fourth volume, on Simon Brett, was published in 2014, and further volumes are planned.